Can washing machine



April 12, 1955 w. G. SCHULZE CAN WASHING MACHINE 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 29, 1951 INVENTOR. 40% j 5% BY M iwwfiv ATTORNEYS April 12, 1955 Filed Aug. 29. 1951 W. G. SCHULZE CAN WASHING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

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Qua/11M r 9 40441) ATTORNEYS United States Patent CAN WASHING MACHINE William G. Schnlze, Fond du Lac, Wis., assignor to Damrow Brothers Company, Fond du Lac, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application August 29, 1951, Serial No. 244,133

1 Claim. (Cl. 134-49) The invention relates to can washing machines.

In can washing machines it has been the usual practice to advance the cans and covers through different treatment stations, the cans and covers being sprayed with cleansing fluid at each station. The operation of the spray nozzles has been controlled by valves controlling the cleansing fluid, and these valves have been moved directly to their opened positions by levers operated by the cans. The opening of these valves requires a great deal of pressure on the cans and places considerable strain on the cans that sometimes tends to tip the can on its conveyor. Where the valves are large to take care of the larger cans, smaller cans cannot be sent through these machines without danger of tipping over because of the strains imposed on these smaller cans in operating the valves. The object of this invention is to overcome the dimculties incident to direct operation of the valves by the cans by providing a fluid pressure power to operate the treatment valves and to control this fluid pressure by pilot valves operated by the cans. These pilot valves which control the fluid pressure medium for operating the treatment valves require only a small amount of power for their actuation, so that operation of these valves by the cans reduces the strain on the can and permits their ready operation by both large and small cans, for even though the different size cans may open the pilot valves varying amounts because of varying neck diameters of the cans, this will not affect the full opening movement of the main treatment valves by the pressure fluid. Since both large and small cans can be readily handled in the same machine by the use of the present invention, the machine is a more universal machine than those heretofore made. Furthermore,

there is less bearing wear on the pilot valve lever bearing and less wear on the main hydraulically operated treatment valves and also larger treatment valves can be used to get a greater volume than is possible with prior machines.

A further object of the invention is to provide hydraulically operated pilot valve controlled treatment valves in which the treatment valves are held to their seats in a closed position by hydraulic pressure and are opened by differential pressure controlled by the can operated pilot valves, so that no springs are used to close the treatment valves.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claim at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an elevation view of a portion of a can washing machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detailed vertical sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detailed horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l.

The mechanism embodying this invention is applicable to any straight line can washer or similar machine where the treatment valves are controlled by the containers passing through the machine.

In Fig. l, I have shown a portion of a straight line can washing machine which may be the usual single row straight line machine or a double row machine such as is shown and described in detail in the copending application of Norman J. Peters, Serial No. 94,857, filed May 'ice 23, 1949, Patent No. 2,698,624, dated January 4, 1955, for Can Washing Machine.

Machines of the type above referred to include a frame 5, parts of which form an enclosure through which the cans and covers are carried by suitable feed mechanism. The cans C ride on spaced rails 6, and the covers B ride in suitable cover guides. Usually the feed mechanism for the cans comprises a pair of spaced reciprocatory feed bars 7 carrying at spaced intervals sets of pivotally mounted gravity actuated feed dogs 8, each set of dogs adapted to engage the lip of the neck of a can and advance it step by step through the various treatment stations as the bars 7 are reciprocated. The covers B are similarly advanced by a feed bar 9 having cover receiving notches 10 therein. The feed bars 7 and 9 are power operated.

A spray nozzle 11 for the treatment fluid for the cans and a spray nozzle 12 for the treatment fluid for the covers is located at each treatment station, and the present invention deals with the operation and control of the valves controlling the passage of treatment fluid to the spray nozzles 11 and 12, and valves for some of the treatment stations have been shown in the drawings though it will be understood that other treatment stations have similar valve mechanism.

Referring to Fig. 3, the spray nozzle 11 is connected by piping 13 to the nozzle 12, and both of these nozzles receive treatment fluid from a supply pipe 14. Passage of treatment fluid through the pipe 14 to the nozzles 11 and 12 is controlled by in each instance a main valve 15 which seats on a seat 16 formed in a valve fitting 17 which carries a cylinder 18 provided with an end cap 19. A hydraulically operated piston 20 works in the cylinder 18 and is connected directly to the stem 21 of the valve 15. The valve 15 is shown as a fiat disk valve of a diameter greater than the diameter of its seat 16 but less than the diameter of the piston 26. Because of the differences in areas between the valve and its operating piston and the differences in fluid pressure imposed upon the operating piston, the valve 15 is made to open and close.

The numeral 22 designates a supply pipe for hydraulic pressure control fluid, such as Water at standpipe pressure. This operating fluid is tapped olf at intervals through pipes 23 which connect with the housings 24 of pilot control valves 25. Pipes 26 connect each of the housings 24 to the capped ends 19 of the cylinders 18. A waste or relief pipe 27 connects with each housing 24. Each pilot valve 25 also includes a piston valve member 28 slidably mounted in a bore in its housing 24 and here shown as provided with a recessed portion 29. The pipe 26 connects with the bore for the member 28 midway between the connections for the pipes 23 and 27. The length of the portion 29 is such that in one position of the valve member 28 the pipes 23 and 26 communicate while in another position the pipes 26 and 27 communicate. With the valve 28 in the position shown in Fig. 3 in which pipes 23 and 26 communicate, pressure fluid from the pipe 22 passes into the cylinder 18 and acts on the larger area of the piston 22 to hold the valve 15 seated against the opposing pressure of the treatment fluid acting on the smaller area of said piston. When the valve 28 is shifted from the position shown in Fig. 3 toward the left so as to bring the pipes 26 and 27 into communication, the pipe 23 is cut off and pressure on the larger area of the piston 20 is relieved with the result that the treatment fluid acting on the smaller area of the piston forces the fluid above the piston 20 out through the pipe 27 and the valve 15 is opened and treatment fluid passes to the spray nozzles 11 and 12. The valve member 28 is normally held in a main valve closing position by a spring 28a interposed between the housing 24 and a stop collar 30 mounted on the exteriorly disposed portion of the valve member 28 which includes a rod portion 31 having a coiled spring 32 mounted thereon between the stop collar 30 and a collar 33 slidably mounted on said rod portion 31 and engaged by the forked end 34 of one arm of an operating lever 35 pivotally supported intermediate its ends at 36 and whose other arm 37 is of curved form and so disposed as to be within the path of movement of the neck of the can C, so that as the can is advanced by the feed bars 7 to a treatment station, it will engage the arm 37 and move it from the full line position to its dotted line position shown in Fig. 3, thereby causing the lever 35 through pressure exerted by its forked arm through the collar 30 on the spring 32 to overcome the loading pressure of the spring 28 and shift the pilot valve member 28 to the position in which pipes 27 and 26 communicate, which as previously noted, causes the main valve 15 to be opened by the pressure control fluid. On the release of the lever 37 by the next advancing movement of the can, the spring 28a shifts the valve member 28 to a full line position shown in Fig. 3 in which the pressure control fluid acting on the piston 20 holds the valve 15 in a closed position. The use of the spring 32 permits an overtravel of the lever 35, so that either a small can with a small diameter neck or a large can with a larger diameter neck will act equally well to operate the pilot valve, it being noted that even though the different sized cans will produce different amounts of travel of the pilot valve member 28, this valve will always be moved a sufficient amount to supply full opening pressure of the control fluid on the piston 20 to open the main valve.

In Fig. 3 in addition to the pipe 14, I have shown a treatment station in which the cans and covers are subjected to a hot Water treatment provided by the admission to the nozzles 11 and 12 at this station of steam from a supply pipe 38 controlled by a valve in the fitting 17 and cold water from the pipe 22 controlled by a valve in the fitting 17, these pipes 38 and 22 being connected to the nozzle piping by a T-fitting 39. In this case the pilot valve 25 through branch connections 26a and 26b with the pipe 26 controls the simultaneous operation of both of the valves 15 in the housings 18. After the valve 15 is opened, it may be moved back against a pad 40 of rubber or other suitable compressible material.

From the foregoing it will be noted that I have provided a can washing machine in which the treatment fluid or fluids at the treatment stations is or are under the control of hydraulically operated main valves whose operations are controlled by control fluid and treatment fluid through the operation of pilot valves controlled by the cans.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to any particular form or arrangement of parts except in so' far as such lirnitations are included in the claim.

What I claim as my invention is:

In a can washing machine in which the cans and covers are advanced step by step through treatment stations and subjected to the action of treatment fluid sprayed onto them at such stations, the combination of a valve controlling the passage of treatment fluid at each station to the spray nozzles for directing this fluid against the cans and covers, hydraulically operated means for opening and closing said valves, a separate source of hydraulic pressure fluid for said hydraulically operated means to close said valves, a pilot valve controlling said pressure fluid at each treatment station, a lever at each treatment station engageable by the neck of a can passing to and from such stations to control said pilot valves, and a yieldable lost motion connection between each pilot valve and its lever permitting overtravel of said lever relative to its valve whereby said lever is effective to operate the pilot valve when acted on by cans of varying neck diameter sizes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,852,692 Bryant Apr. 5, 1932 2,189,451 Peters Feb. 6, 1940 2,197,602 Wolcott Apr. 16, 1940 2,228,205 Dwyer Ian. 7, 1941 2,338,081 Arey Ian. 4, 1944 2,369,358 Lathrop Feb. 13, 1945 2,418,063 Alling Mar. 25, 1947 

